They didn’t speak for several moments, just stared at each other.
Then Lara slowly smiled. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
He grinned back at her, his heart full of feelings he couldn’t—and didn’t want to—identify. “Well, whatever was in me, you brought it out. Shit, Lara. You’re fucking amazing.”
Her cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t look away. “So are you.”
“So we going to go two out of three? That might have been a fluke.”
“You want to do it again?”
He grunted. “That’s a stupid question.”
“But, well, can you?”
“Lara, trust me. That was just the beginning.”
She bit her lower lip, and the endearing gesture socked him hard in the gut. What the hell?
“Well, if you’re sure.”
“Let me get a change of clothes, and I’ll be right back. I’ll show you sure.” He needed more condoms. A lot more.
Lara watched him leave and closed the door behind him. She took a few steps to her bed and flopped down onto it. Holy crap, but she’d never felt that before. Sure, she’d had her share of orgasms, mostly by her own hand. A few of her ex-boyfriends had tried to please her, but the lackluster climaxes had convinced her she’d always done something wrong. Now she wondered if it had been them and not her.
Letting Noah take charge had been a little scary, but she’d been so hungry for him, she would have accepted just about anything he wanted to do. But that… He’d been so demanding, so forceful. She should have been frightened, at the least pleaded with him to slow down. But she’d known, deep down, they belonged together. She froze. Belonged together? How could she think that? She’d just met Noah, knew little about him, and hadn’t been with anyone else in years. Yet she’d allowed him to order her around. She’d put her mouth around his penis—hello, unprotected sex—and still didn’t care. How stupid could she be? Yet she instinctively knew he’d take care of her.
He always has and always will, sugar.
Oh hell, not the voice again. But for once, Lara didn’t mind the words. She wanted to believe them.
She tingled all over just thinking about what she and Noah had done. And he was coming back.
For two years, she’d gone without. She knew she had nothing to worry about sexually. No diseases and a habit of taking the pill she’d never given up, hopeful she might need the protection again. But she didn’t know enough about Noah to go skin to skin, as much as she wanted to. In hindsight, sucking him off hadn’t been too smart, but God, he was so sexy.
He returned sooner than she’d expected. Or maybe she’d been so lost in fantasies of him that she’d lost track of time. Ghosts, stolen paintings, and dead bodies paled next to Noah First in the flesh. His eyes flashed, more green than brown, and she could do nothing more than lean up on her elbows and watch him, knowing him for the large predator he truly was.
After once more locking the door behind him, he tossed a small bag on the floor. “I’ve been thinking about it. You’re not safe alone.”
Disappointment speared her. Was that why he intended to spend the night? Though he’d said he’d be roaring to go again, in her experience, once the guy got his, he normally petered off to sleep.
“I’ll watch over you, Lara. Close. Real close.” He shrugged out of his shirt, shoes, socks, and pants and stood in nothing more than white boxer briefs that left little to the imagination. Noah had muscles on top of muscles, and the long, thick shaft that had felt so big in her mouth looked huge and hard between his legs, encased by white cotton.
“Now strip down, and then you and I have a few things to talk about.”
“Like?” She couldn’t stop staring at him. A hunk, truly. All hers, and he wanted to talk?
“Like the fact that I’m clean. I haven’t been with a woman in nearly six months. I only have one more condom, and no way in hell is it going to be enough. So unless we do some sucking or ass fucking, we’re going to need to get creative.”
She blew out a long breath, hoping she didn’t look too excited at his words. They’d only just met, after all, and she didn’t want to come across as a total slut. No, just a freak who has secret fantasies of being ordered around. Ghostly laughter filled her mind. “Um, I don’t know about the ass thing.”
His sly smile had her heart racing. “Oh, Lara, I can guaran-damn-tee we’ll see to that. But I only have one more condom. Now, let’s talk about you. You’re tight. I’m betting it’s been awhile for you.”
She flushed. Had she been so obvious? “Yeah.”
“So you probably aren’t on any birth control.” He sighed.
She’d never had such an upfront conversation about sex before, but Noah didn’t seem to see it as anything but a formality before they did it again. That he wanted her, had decided they would be together again, soothed her worries that he was a one-shot wonder.
“Actually, I am on birth control. And I’m clean.”
He froze and just looked at her. “So you’re telling me I could come inside you, and we’d be safe?” At her nod, he took a step closer to her. “You okay with that? Because you need to be up front about it. Once I get inside you, you’re mine, Lara.”
“Arrogant much?” They’d spend some fun time together before he left for Oregon in a few days. Thoughts of his leaving depressed her, though she couldn’t understand why. She didn’t really know him, and it wasn’t as if there was a shortage of men around here. Bill, Mike—if she grew too desperate—and a few others had expressed interest. But none of them held a candle to Noah.
He grinned, and the joyful expression floored her. In the short time since she’d known him, Noah had seemed anything but happy. Now he glowed with satisfaction.
“Oh baby. You have no idea what I plan to do with you. So what’s it going to be? You in, or am I sleeping on the couch?”
She glanced at the settee against the far wall. “You’re a bit big for my little sofa.” He took a step closer. All that huge, imposing muscle intimidated and aroused in the extreme. But what made her say yes was the look in his eyes. Possessive, hungry, yet somehow tender as well. He confused her, and she wanted to know the real Noah. “I’m in.”
“Be sure. I’ll be in control. Of all of it. No safe words, no playing around. You’ll be mine. All of you, Lara. Can you handle that?”
The implications of what he said took her aback…and made her wet. She bit her lip, nervous, but couldn’t stop herself from rising to her feet to meet him halfway when his gaze locked in on her mouth.
“I’d have to trust you not to hurt me.” She considered him, her instincts, and the strange, ghostly voice that moaned with approval at the idea. She’d be a fool to accept the word of a man she’d just met. And to give him control of everything? But these circumstances—and she herself—were anything but normal.
“You have to trust me, or none of this is worth anything.” Noah waited. Not demanding, not coercing her, but leaving the decision in her hands.
“I do. Trust you, that is.” To her surprise, she did.
“I’ll never hurt you,” Noah promised. “I’m going to make you come so hard and so much, you’ll be begging me to never leave.”
That was what she was afraid of.
He didn’t like the fact that Noah First’s room remained empty. Or that he and Lara had played detective at the morgue. The idiots in law enforcement around here had no idea who their murderer was, nor would they unless he announced it. Dropping the girl where she could be found had been a calculated risk. The tradeoff would result in an investigation turning the town into a mass of chaos and confusion—confusion that would do him a world of good.